Practically stumbling on his way to the bed, and bumping his shin into a bedpost, Ryan eventually leapt onto the bed. He started to kiss Emma possessively when she pulled back from him and silenced him with a finger to his lips. Though Ryan’s eyes pouted at her - and Christ could that boy pout - Emma resisted his efforts and reached for the box she’d sat aside, offering it to him instead.
As Ryan went to open the small box in his hand, he startled a bit at hearing the container of frosting be opened and he gazed at Emma with wide eyes, to which she just laughed softly at him. “Open your present big boy. And then the fun begins.”
Ripping the paper off the present, Ryan discovered a box from the same jeweler he’d purchased Emma’s promise ring from. Looking up at her and shooting her an inquisitive gaze, Emma rolled her eyes at him and he finally took the hint, opening the box up the rest of the way to find a ring very much like hers, but cut for a man instead. “Put it on me?” He asked with a bit of a shy smile, and Emma took the ring, sliding it on his finger before nailing him with a ‘come hither’ stare that had him quivering.
“Switch spots with me, Birthday Boy.” Emma instructed him and when he did, she finished popping the cap off the frosting and reached her hand in, thoroughly coating it in the decadent chocolate. Dragging her tongue over her lips again, she noted she had Ryan’s complete attention and she reached down, running her coated hand over his length, transferring the frosting to his member as he shivered once more. “Mmm. You’re going to taste so good.”
Leaning down, Emma began a dizzyingly slow assault on Ryan’s hardness, her tongue taking slow, kitten licks across his head as Ryan grabbed handfuls of sheet to try and control himself. As Emma gazed up at Ryan and just smirked, she took him deeper, his full head in her mouth as she swirled her tongue around the chocolate frosting, making more of a mess of him than she was remotely cleaning him up. “Emmmmmmm,” Ryan gasped, and her only response was to give him a cat-eating-canary-grin.
Slowly, oh so slowly, Emma started to stroke Ryan as she took him deeper, gagging a little bit and stopping at that point, realizing she wouldn’t be able to fully deep-throat him. Instead she pulled back and licked along the vein beneath his cock, watching his body quake as she did. After a long moment of just sitting there gazing at him, she told him with eyes dancing, “Okay. Happy Birthday, babe.”
“Wait, wha? Emmmmm don’t tease.”
Gray eyes bounding devilishly, she told him sincerely, “There’s no more chocolate for me to clean.” And again she paused as she stroked his cock, wicked slow, earning her his wordless whimpers in response. “Oh. There. I missed a spot. And it’s soooooo hard.” She teased as Ryan’s face went between pale, crimson, and then back again. Finally tiring of teasing him, Emma took him down again, another low whimper greeting her ears in response. This time Emma continued to suck and stroke until Ryan was nothing more than a quaking mess.
“I’m close baby.” He was able to warn her and it left her moments to decide how she was going to handle it - taste him or wear him? Ultimately, she did a bit of both, mouth catching the first spurt of his load, and then pulling back so that his next shot ended up on her face, neck, and even her breasts.
“You dirty, dirty, boy.” Emma teased even as she swallowed what he’d offered. “Look at the mess you’ve made of me.” And with her words, the still trembling Ryan grabbed for the jar of frosting, coating his fingers and tracing circles over her breasts, turning the tables on Emma.
Emma could see it was going to be a long, adventurous afternoon. She just hoped they didn’t still smell like chocolate when they met up with Gabi and Devin later!
~*~
“Why do you - both of you - smell like chocolate frosting?”
Leave it to the ever-observant Gabi to pick up on their pre-gathering activities, Ryan thought to himself, but Emma was quicker on the retort and quipped back, “I made him a cake.”
Gabi furrowed her brow at that while Ryan tried to bite back a chuckle. “Why would you make him a cake? We’ll get one here.”
Smirking and keeping her hand interlaced with Ryan’s, Emma replied smoothly, “You misunderstood me. I didn’t make a cake for him. I made him a cake.”
When Gabi’s eyes finally flashed in recognition, she started giggling hysterically and she pulled Emma aside, seeking details even if it was her brother being discussed. Rolling his eyes but smiling, Ryan glanced over at Devin, reaching out to pull his brother-in-law into a hug. “Hello, what’s this?” Devin questioned him as they pulled back, and even the ladies briefly paused their chattering to gaze in his direction.
“Well, I already got ahhh a few birthday presents. This,” Ryan paused and tapped the promise ring Emma had given him earlier in the evening. “was one of them.”
“Engaged?” Gabi questioned as she gazed back and forth between Emma and Ryan while Emma shook her head and Ryan let her answer.
“Committed. It would be awfully soon to be engaged. We’re trying to take our time, let things progress as they may. But in the meanwhile, I’m his and he’s mine, and I don’t give a rat’s ass who knows that.”
“Rat’s ass.” Devin chuckled. “And to think you were such a sweet, polite young lady when we met you.”
Snorting in a rather unladylike manner, Emma retorted “The hell I was. I haven’t been polite since I got too big for my father to spank manners into me. And sweet?” At this she shrugged and gazed over to Ryan in to what was a clear affectionate gesture. “I suppose I have my moments.”
“You do baby.” He assured her softly while trying to catch his sister’s eye. “Would you mind finding seats with Dev while I have a quickie chat with my darling older sister?” Both women raised their eyebrows, but both obliged, Emma walking off arm-in-arm with Devin while Gabi followed her brother to a quieter area of the restaurant. Once he was certain no one else was around, he told her softly, “Luke and I did something so stupid before the season started and it’s looking like it’s going to catch up with us.”
“What did you do, Turtle?” Gabi questioned immediately, her hands moving to settle on her hips. When Ryan just shook his head, she rolled her eyes at him. “I’ll find out soon you know. But it’s nothing you’ll need my services for?” And when he shook his head no again, she once more rolled her eyes.
Ryan just sighed and muttered at her, “Grandpère and the rest of you will be disappointed in us when it comes out. That’s all I want to say at this point. Just know I love her with all my heart.”
Giving him a suspicious look but tried to humor him regardless, “Ahhh, young love.” Gabi teased as they walked off arm-in-arm towards where their significant others sat. “To be young and foolish again.”
Snorting at her, Ryan nonetheless pulled her chair out for her before retorting, “For an old lady, you seem to have the foolishness down to a science.” Off Gabi’s glare, Ryan just smirked in response. “It’s my party and I’ll be a brat if I want to!”
Emma cut her eyes towards Gabi. “Oh yes, he can be a brat now, but he will pay for it later, I promise you.”
“Does it involve more frosting?” Ryan asked hopefully.
This time, he got smacked from both sides of the table.
Chapter 31 - Runaway
With the season finally over, and the Blizzard losing early on in the playoffs, Ryan was all too aware of Trent’s threat to tell Emma about the bet if he failed to do so himself. He could still hear Trent’s words ringing in his ears, “There’s no way I’m letting you bring her back home practically as your fiancée, without her knowing the truth.”
Shuddering a bit as he cleaned out both his own locker and Luke’s – who was still playing for the team at the next level up – Ryan caught Trent’s eyes and murmured to him in a voice only loud enough for the interim Captain to hear, “Today. I promise you.”
But even as he made the promise, even as Trent nodded his acknowledgment, Ryan wasn’t sure how he could tell her. He was all too aware of how this conversation cou
ld go, how her quiet fury would rage at being betrayed by him yet again – and this time, quite worse than the first.
Sighing to himself, Ryan grabbed what remained of his cousin’s sticks, tapping them together for easier transport, mind still drifting on how to deal with telling Emma. Could he even tell her face-to-face, he wondered?
As he shook his head to himself, his cell phone rang with Luke’s tone, and Ryan soon picked up. “Bonjour! Comment allez-vous?”
“Been better.” Ryan answered softly, ducking out of the locker room for the conversation, moving to pace off towards the practice rink, sticking to English even though he knew French would be safer. “What’s up?”
“I’ve been instructed to move out of my hotel and find a place to settle up here. Think you and Emma could load up a U-Haul with the rest of my stuff and Ourson and come pay a visit?”
Eyes closing briefly, Ryan told him in the same soft voice, “I think it would perhaps be only me coming, I think once I have a conversation with her later today she’s going to want nothing to do with either one of us.”
“Pourquoi pas?”
“Remember that idiotic bet we made when we first moved in, when you were trying to get my goat and threatened to make Emma a notch on your bedpost, etc?” Off Luke’s confused but affirmative noise, Ryan sighed again, telling him, “She overheard us. Didn’t realize we were talking about her. But she told Trent, and he questioned me about it, and he’s basically told me I’ve got ‘til the end of today to tell her or he will.”
“Crisse de Tabarnak.”
“No fucking shit. I mean that bet was stupid, God, I know it was stupid, we both knew it at the time even, but I never expected it to come back to bite us like this. She’s going to hate us both, you realize, not think she can trust either one of us, since we’ve both kept her in the dark about it.” Ryan shook his head, but glanced around, to make sure no one had followed him and that he was still alone – which he was.
“So, what are you going to do then? If you must tell her. How are you going to say it?”
“That is the million loonie question, my dear cousin. Because right now? My chicken ass is ready to load up that U-Haul, tell her I need to bring stuff up to you, and leave her a note, while hiding out with you for a bit until her rage cools.”
“Are you sure that is the best idea? Running away doesn’t solve anything, Tortue.”
“I don’t have any better ideas. I can only hope she’ll forgive me once she finds out.”
~*~
Dear Emma,
I know you were expecting to come back and find me, and for sure not find a letter in my wake, but I have to tell you something, and I couldn’t bring myself to do it face-to-face.
You see, baby, I know you’re going to be so angry at me, and I couldn’t bear that. So, I’m taking the chicken's way out and writing you this letter.
Do you remember when Luke and I first moved in, and you walked in as we were fighting? I never realized you overheard the bet we were making. And baby, I’m ashamed to say, the bet was about you.
I didn’t know how to tell you, I didn’t know what to say, and I knew you’d be so very angry, so I’ve made the trip up with Luke’s stuff on my own, to give you time and space to work through your anger and anything else.
But please don’t think I’m running from us. I just didn’t think my presence would make the situation any better.
I’ll be back in town in a few days, and I’m really hoping that you’ll be willing to talk to me about this face-to-face.
All my love,
Ryan
~*~
Just below his signature, and in large letters he wouldn’t be able to miss, Emma scrawled out, “IT’S OVER.” And just to make sure he got her point loud and clear, she removed her promise ring, leaving it with the letter.
‘Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.’
And Emma Connelly was no one’s fool.
~*~
This couldn’t be happening. The deception, the kiss. That had been bad enough. But to find out that she was the target of the bet on who was going to bed her first? Emma ran almost blindly over to Trent’s apartment, pounding on the door with her hand until Trent opened it, and then almost immediately curling against him, face pressed into his chest, and tears already streaming down.
“I’ve got you sweetie,” Trent whispered into her hair, wrapping his arms around her tightly and rocking her a bit side to side. He continued this for several minutes before finally pulling back from her a bit to gaze down, having a good idea what the answer was, but needing to hear it definitively from her. “What’s wrong?”
Emma just buried her face more into Trent’s chest, not answering for several minutes, as the tears continued to stream, soon muttering almost too low for him to hear, “Letter. From. Ryan.”
And at that Trent’s arms tightened, realizing that his teammate had chosen the cowards way of dealing with his mistake and kissed the top of her head, telling her softly, “Shuuuuuuush, sweetie. It’ll all be okay, I promise you that.”
Emma’s only response was a choked but hollow laugh and to cling to Trent tighter.
~*~
Sat curled up in one of Trent’s team-issued leather chairs, Emma gazed at Trent quietly, her voice eerily calm, but her eyes still betraying the emotions of the situation. “I think it’s best if I move out of there. I’m sure the team will let me move out. But I’m not sure where I’d stay.”
Making a small tsk noise at her, Trent told her softly, “You can stay here. You’re always welcome here. You can sleep in my room, and I’ll fold out the couch into a bed.”
“That will only work temporarily, I couldn’t make you sleep on that couch for anything long term. Sounds like I’d need to talk to my brother about finding me my own place away from the team.” But after a pause, and tilting her head a bit, Emma murmured at him, “Didn’t you have 2 bedrooms?”
Eyes brightening a bit despite the situation, Trent stood, moving over to her and reaching for her hands, telling her, “Let me introduce you to my pride and joy.”
And for the next hour, instead of dwelling on her own heartbreak, Emma managed smiles as Trent told her all about hydroponics, showed her his setup in the second bedroom, and even offered to make her lunch with vegetables fresh from his garden.
Chapter 32 - Mi Casa Es Su Casa
“So, what are your next steps, hon?”
Curled up on the opposite leather chair than Emma was, Trent watched her close, still searching for the signs of another breakdown, the storm resettling in after another period of calm. But she surprised him, voice the same eerie temperament it had been not too long after her arrival in his humble little apartment. “I need to move out of there. And it’s not fair of me to just expect you’ll let me move in here.”
“Yes it is,” Trent interrupted, ignoring her glare and quirking a bit of a smile at her instead. “It is entirely fair to assume that, because my home is yours. But…” And he paused to glance around a bit, giving Emma another chance to jump in.
“Precisely. There’s not a lot of room for both of us here. I can bring clothes, my work stuff, and maybe if you’re willing, my Grandpa’s chair. But the rest should go into storage.” Sighing heavily, she continued after a moment, “I’m going to have to call Keegan, see if he can’t borrow money from my parents without them realizing it, and fund me.”
“Us.” Trent interrupted once more, this time meeting her stare with a grin. “What, did you think I’m going to let you mope on your own? And the team will cover my rent up to a certain point even if I don’t live here.”
Emma shook her head but Trent was pleased to see a small smile curling over her lips. “Okay. Maybe us. If that’s the case, room for not just us, but all our stuff, including your garden. And knowing Keegan, his part of the agreement will be that he gets a dedicated room.”
Trent shrugged, but kept the grin on his face. “I see no problems with any of these arrangement
s thus far. So, if you’re determined to move out of there, let’s start there since you’ve said he’ll be gone for a few days. We’re either going to need to get some of the remaining guys here to help us...”
Groaning, Emma filled in the rest of his thought. “Or I need to call Gabi and Devin, let them know that their brother/brother-in-law is a flaming doucherocket, and that I need help moving away from him, and in with you. That ought to go over like a lead balloon.” Making a face like she’d inhaled a pile of tart cakes, she let out a resigned sigh. “Guess the boys get to find out first that all is not well ‘tween me and the goalie who, if I’m lucky, will decide to move on and sign elsewhere for next season.”
I wouldn’t hold your breath on that one, sweetheart, Trent thought to himself, but was wise not to voice. “Let me call around, see who still is here, and who can help move stuff. Can you rent a U-Haul or something for whatever we’re not going to be able to fit here? I’m willing to split the cost of a rental unit with you until your brother can work his magic.”
Just Another Season Page 20
